


A Cause for Celebration

by Schupuff



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Birthday Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23708935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schupuff/pseuds/Schupuff
Summary: Hubert's Birthday is approaching and Ferdinand wants to Celebrate it. Hubert, not so much.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 22
Kudos: 110





	1. Chapter 1

“Hubert von Vestra, I admit defeat!” Ferdinand announced as he sat across from him for their daily tea time.

Hubert poured Ferdinand’s tea. “I was not aware we were in any sort of competition. In what have I defeated you?”

Ferdinand sighed. He put his elbow on the table and propped his chin up with his hand. . “I have absolutely no idea what to get you for your birthday. I’m afraid I must ask what it is you want!”

“Nothing,” he answered simply after sipping his coffee.

Ferdinand sat up straight and shook his head. “Oh, no that will not do. It is the first birthday we are celebrating together. I certainly cannot be empty handed.”

Hubert shook his head. “I want for nothing,” Hubert stated. “I do not need some sort of gift to know you care for me. My birthday is just a day, same as any other, and not particularly worth celebrating,” he said as if it was a commonly held opinion.

“That is simply not the case! Are you telling me you do not even wish to have a party?”

Hubert grimaced. “Ferdinand, when have you known me to be the partying sort? Just because we are together doesn’t mean the day has changed. I will celebrate as I always have. By not.”

Ferdinand pouted and stared into his teacup. “But I want you to know how special you are to me. I want you to know that I am grateful that you are here, that you were born.”

Hubert watched him momentarily before reaching across the table and gently holding his hand. “I know. I do not need to be showered with gifts or be thrown a party or some receive some grand gesture to know that. Trust me, Ferdinand. I do not enjoy being the center of attention. In all honesty, it makes me nervous.”

Ferdinand scoffed and slightly looked up at him. “I suppose I can see that.” His smile grew. “Edelgard did have to talk me out of throwing you a surprise party.”

Hubert blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. "A surprise... Ferdinand you cannot have been serious! I might have killed everyone. Who knows what I would have cast!"

Ferdinand couldn't help but laugh. Hubert's laughter was absolutely contagious. "That is exactly what she said!" Their laughter subsided and turned into a gentle smile between the two of them.

"This is all I need," Hubert said at last.

"What is?"

Hubert sat back in his chair and relaxed his shoulderds. "You. Simply, you. Watching you fret about making sure I know I am appreciated is you at your most...well, you."

"Oh very well," Ferdinand said. "No grand birthday celebration for you, Hubert."

"Thank you."

"I am still buying you flowers."

"Of course."

"And procuring the best coffee I can find"

"Yes."

"And I plan to…"

"Ferdinand?'

"Yes?"

"Are you not supposed to keep such plans a secret?"

* * *

Hubert woke up on his birthday to the smell of coffee. There, on the edge of the bed, sat Ferdinand holding two mugs. Hubert instinctively reached for one, a quiet grunt serving as a morning greeting.

“Good morning to you too,” Ferdinand said, surrendering the coffee. He leaned forward and kissed Hubert’s forehead. “And a happy birthday as well.”

Hubert responded with another grunt before taking a long drink of the coffee. He couldn’t help but smile. Ferdinand had taken great care and a lot of time to improve his coffee brewing technique and the improvements were well noted. The flavor was nearly perfect. “It is excellent. You’ve grown skilled.”

Ferdinand smirked and preened a bit. “Of course! It is for you. You would never settle for less than my all.”

Hubert nodded. “Very true. And I thank you. I know it must take a lot of your will to not give your all to celebrating my birthday.”

Ferdinand’s smile faltered a bit. “About that..”

Hubert glared. “What did you do?”

Ferdinand started to blush and looked mildly uncomfortable. “I kind of...you see, it was not entirely my fault.”

“What wasn’t your fault.”

Ferdinand looked over his shoulder to Hubert’s desk and Hubert followed his gaze. There was a large vase of dark red roses. That was to be expected, Hubert thought. Ferdinand had mentioned flowers. What had not been mentioned was his desk being absolutely covered in wrapped gifts. There were even a few on the floor. “Only two are from me,” Ferdinand explained. “When I told everyone that we were not having a party, they understood. However, they started delivering these gifts for you. I could not very well refuse them.”

Hubert merely stared in shock. “...for me?”

Ferdinand nodded. “It seems you are very well regarded among your friends. Even Linhardt got you something. Or he may just have put his name under Caspar’s on the tag. Who knows.”

Hubert frowned as he looked at the pile of presents. "You see, now I feel obligated to return the favor and I am not good at these sorts of things."

Ferdinand laughed and puffed out his chest. “Do not worry, Hubert! I am an expert gift giver! I will make sure you receive half of the credit for whatever I provide!”

Hubert chuckled. “Thank you, Ferdinand. Still, I can’t expect you to handle your own birthday celebration. I fear I am on my own.”

Ferdinand shook his head and his posture relaxed. "Oh no, please do not worry about it. I do not need anyone to fuss over it."

Hubert furrowed his brow. "That is unlike you. You love attention."

Ferdinand shrugged. "My birthday is cursed."

"Cursed?"

Ferdinand nodded. "Yes. It is typically a party of one.” He sighed. “If at all. My father stopped acknowledgement of it outside from a slight mention, maybe I would get a cake. When I came to the academy, the mock battle was that day so everyone was busy and no one liked me back then anyway. It was awful seeing the professor take tea with everyone else but me. Then there was the war so…” He shook his head. “It hurts less than it used to. I simply expect people to be too busy with things far more important than my birthday. Sad to say, I am used to it. But nevertheless, I will celebrate yours to the fullest!"

Hubert nodded as he heard Ferdinand’s speak. Hubert was a man of service, strategy and secrets. He nodded as he made his decision. He knew that right now, in this time of peace they had earned, the best use of those skills would be to throw Ferdinand the greatest surprise party he had ever seen. “Very well,” he said, smiling gently. “If it means that much to you, then celebrate, we shall.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Ferdinand's Birthday! Does the birthday curse continue?

Hubert von Vestra was a man on a mission. He had one goal and he needed to pull it off perfectly. Ferdinand’s birthday. A perfect surprise party and a perfect gift. Hubert had never been terribly good at or fond of either, but it was Ferdinand. Despite Ferdinand’s dismissal and words to the contrary, Hubert knew he longed for such an event. Despite his cheerful exterior, despite his helpfulness and caring, Hubert knew the real Ferdinand- a man desperate to prove himself more than the progeny of a horrid man and system and a man yearning for affection he’d long been denied.

“Surely not all of your birthdays were horrible,” Hubert had said when his plotting had begun. “There must have been at least one fond memory. A beloved gift, perhaps.”

Ferdinand rolled his eyes. “I received many a fine gift, that is not the issue, Hubert.”

“I did not say a fine gift, Ferdinand. I said beloved.”

Hubert watched as Ferdinand struggled to keep his pleasant disposition, but noted his smile not reaching his eyes. “I only ever asked for one thing.”

“Did you receive it?”

“No.”

“What was it?”

Ferdinand frowned. “It was a long time ago, Hubert.”

“Ferdinand…”

“It would not have mattered anyway. My father said no and that was final. Even if someone had dared listen to what I wanted for a change, he would have…”

“Would have what?”

Ferdinand looked away from Hubert and made a show of refilling his teacup. “Already this birthday is disaster and it is two weeks away. I thought we agreed to never speak of my father.”

“My apologies.”

They sat in silence, Ferdinand drinking his tea, Hubert sitting still except for when he sipped at his coffee. After what felt like an eternity of Ferdinand avoiding looking at him, he set down his teacup with a gentle clink. “It is all right. I apologize that my family life is a sore subject.”

“No need for apologies, Ferdinand. I understand completely.”

Ferdinand scoffed, a small smile gracing his lips. “Yes, I suppose you do.”

This conversation replayed in his mind the remainder of the week. While Hubert would momentarily sneak away to attend to secret party planning, half of his attention was devoted to analyzing every word Ferdinand had said. Something he wanted, but his father refused. It didn’t make sense. Duke Aegir was not the greatest father in the world, but from what he understood, he would entertain the wants of a young Ferdinand. To a point at least. What could possibly cause him to outright refuse his son? One night, after he had commissioned Ferdinad’s cake and received confirmation that Petra would indeed be making the trip from Brigid to attend Ferdinand’s party, Hubert found himself pouring over records on the late Duke Aegir. A brief medical history contained the answer he had been searching for. Duke Aegir had been allergic to dogs.

* * *

The morning of Ferdinand’s birthday came. Despite Hubert waking him up, Ferdinand took breakfast alone and went on his morning ride alone. It was his birthday and per usual, he was spending it alone. He knew he’d told Hubert to not concern himself with it, but still, he’d hoped Hubert would have arranged something more than their usual tea break. Still, he was looking forward to it. Hubert had wished him a happy birthday before leaving for an early meeting and made him swear to not miss their usual teatime. Ferdinand had laughed it off. Nobles were punctual, after all. Still, he thought as he returned to the stable, it would have been nice to spend the entirety of the day with the man he loved. And what sort of meeting was he, the Prime Minister, not invited to? Probably something underhanded, if he really stopped to think about it, but still! It was his birthday and if he wanted to take lunch with Hubert as well as afternoon tea, that was certainly his right! All he had to do was find him.

Ferdinand’s task proved harder than he thought it could be. Hubert didn’t spend time in very many places. He could typically be found in his office or at Edelgard’s side. Yet anytime he came close to approaching his office door someone would come whisk him away. At first it was Bernadetta, hastily explaining that she needed him to help her water some flowers. “I am not good with plants,” Ferdinand had said.

Bernadetta shook her head. “N-no, of course you are! These ones are um…high up! And you’re taller than me!”

After watering the flowers and pointing out that Bernadetta could have simply used the step ladder, he started to trek back toward the office. On his way, he was pulled aside by Caspar who begged for Ferdinand to show him an absurdly simple lance technique.

“You don’t even use lances,” Ferdinand stated flatly.

“Gotta start somewhere, am I right? Come on! I just gotta see it. Right now!”

After being dragged to the training grounds, Ferdinand was accosted by Dorothea regarding lyrics to an opera she’d seemingly forgotten. Edelgard then needed his signature on some ceremonial declaration. Just as he thought he was in the clear to return to Hubert’s office, he found himself blocked by Linhardt.

“I’m supposed to distract you or whatever,” he said with a yawn.

Ferdinand huffed. “Distract me?” he asked. “And who told you to do such a thing?”

“Hubert,” he said.

Ferdinand frowned. Why would Hubert want to distract him? Even worse, Ferdinand grew concerned that Hubert was him entirely. “Where is he?”

Linhardt shrugged. “Dunno. Figure I’d have seen him or you by now. Isn’t it your teatime or something?”

Ferdinand sighed. It was time to head to the tea garden. How dare Hubert make his other friends run interference? Didn’t Hubert want to spend time with him? He’d been foolish to get his hopes up. His birthday was cursed, after all. His dejected walk turned into a stormy stomp as he approached the garden. His eyes narrowed as he saw Hubert there waiting for him. “Hubert, how dare you!”

“How dare I what?” he asked.

“Do not play coy with me. You know what you did. Getting everyone to ‘distract me’ Did you ever stop to think that perhaps I wanted to spend the day with you? Maybe try to have a good birthday for once? Why would you want to avoid me?”

Hubert looked away from Ferdinand, seemingly ashamed. “That is not the case, Ferdinand. I would love nothing more than to spend every waking moment with you. You should know that by now. I had pressing matters to attend to and I have been looking forward to tea with you all day. I promise.”

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I am sorry, I do not mean to yell at you. I am just upset that today never goes how I want it to. You are an important person. I do not hold it against you that you are so needed by the Empire. I am as well, after all.”

Hubert cautiously took Ferdinand’s hands. “I know and I apologize that it couldn’t be helped today. But if you have taught me anything, Ferdinand, it is the importance of being optimistic now and again. The day is not over. I did procure you a cake as well as that imported tea you like. The moment you step through that archway, Ferdinand, the focus is on you.”

Ferdinand took a deep breath and offered him a smile. “That sounds lovely.” He let Hubert lead him through the archway into the tea garden. “So what business did you have that required such drastic measures for me to not be in your presence all day?”

“Arranging this.”

Before Ferdinand could question him further, he noted the banners and garlands decorating the tea garden. As he was about to ask what the decorations were for his gaze fell upon a table on which sat a large, two-tiered cake.

“SURPRISE!”

Ferdinand nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw all of his friends and comrades there, waiting for him and nearly cried as Dorothea led them in singing a traditional birthday song. He looked to Hubert, who only nodded at him, mouthing the words “Happy Birthday.”

* * *

“You are quite the party planner,” Ferdinand said as he returned to Hubert’s side. He’d finished making the rounds among his party guests and had consumed a few flutes of champagne. He was also wearing a flower crown crafted by Bernadetta. He linked his arm with Hubert’s and smiled. “This is more than I could have ever hoped for,” he said as he leaned against him. “Thank you.”

Hubert chuckled, softly. “Ferdinand, what kind of mage would I be if I could not dispel a simple birthday curse?”

Ferdinand laughed. “I love you,” he said. “I am sorry for being angry with you earlier.”

“I knew you would,” Hubert said, gently. “But it couldn’t be helped. The décor, ensuring, Petra was received properly at the dock and ushered into the capital without anyone saying anything, making sure your cake was delivered on time as well as your present… I couldn’t risk having you seen any of it. Surprise parties require a lot of coordination and strategy, Ferdinand. Oddly more stressful than a war.”

Ferdinand nodded. “I know, I know. That is why I am apologi-…wait. Present?”

“You didn’t think I would be empty handed, did you?”

Ferdinand shook his head. “No, please, Hubert, you did not have to go to the trouble,” he pleaded. “This party is more than enough and I…”

Hubert shushed him, laying a finger atop his lips. “Of course I did. You have a lot of birthdays to make up for. Wait here.”

Ferdinand did as requested, watching as Hubert calmly worked his way out of the tea garden. He finished his champagne, and looked around to see his friends all enjoying themselves and smiled. His friends. His friends who eagerly came together to celebrate his birthday. What greater gift could there be? What more could he want than this? He started to laugh as Hubert returned, carrying a fairly big box in both of his arms. The party stopped and paid attention as he made his way to Ferdinand and laid the box gently at his feet.

Ferdinand laughed. “A lot of tea could fit in this box,” he said, as he took to his knees and untied the large red bow. Ferdinand rolled his eyes at the lack of reply as he lifted the lid. He gasped as he saw it. One perfect, adorable, Aegir Hound puppy. The puppy barked, its tail starting to wag wildly. Ferdinand shook his head, his jaw trembling as he looked up to Hubert as if to ask if the dog was real. Hubert nodded and Ferdinand could not stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks. He couldn’t tell if he was laughing or sobbing as he reached to lift the puppy out of the box and hold it close. “Hello to you too,” he said as it started licking his cheek. He looked back up to Hubert. “This is mine? This is my dog?”

Hubert winced. “Please tell me you wanted an Aegir Hound.”

“Of course I wanted an Aegir Hound!” he said through laughter as the puppy continuing to lap at his face and wag its tail. “What’s its name?” he managed to ask.

“Whatever you choose to name him.”

“Tip,” he said quietly, still smiling broadly. “It was always going to be Tip.”

“Tip?” Hubert asked, clearly confused. “Not some long name with relevant titles and an entire history of it relating to your family line?”

Ferdinand shook his head. “No, that is how one names cats. I simply have always liked the tips of their tails.” He grinned as he could not tear his eyes away from his new puppy. “Oh Hubert, he is perfect. How did you even know?”

Hubert chuckled. “Happy Birthday, Ferdinand.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's these boys! And their birthdays! I love them and they deserve to be happy!
> 
> [@schupuff](http://twitter.com/schupuff)


End file.
